If you were raised in Delaware or nearby parts of Pennsylvania or New Jersey, you probably know the night before Halloween as Mischief Night, when children and adolescents engage in pranks and petty vandalism. The custom, which dates back to 19th century England, took root in the region in the 1930s. It goes by other names in other regions of the country, most notoriously Devil’s Night.
Most of the mayhem consists of relatively harmless antics – soaping car windows, TPing trees and egging houses and the like. But in Detroit they took the “devil” part seriously. As the city lost population and vacant homes and businesses proliferated, arsonists took the opportunity to torch hundreds of buildings. In some cases the flames spread, causing injuries and even deaths. The violence peaked in 1984, when the fire department responded to more than 800 blazes.
The city responded with curfews and community patrols, and the practice died out by the end of the century. Other jurisdictions also report less vandalism than in previous generations, thanks to the growing presence of doorbell security cameras and youngsters’ preference to stay home glued to video screens. Maybe Fats Waller’s tune could be Generation Alpha’s theme song for the evening.
Louis Armstrong was the first to record “Keepin’ Out of Mischief Now,” back in 1932. It’s been recorded by scores of singers since.
